ABERDEEN City and Shire’s only fully comprehensive Pilates studio, The Pilates Hut (located at the Golf Centre at Inchmarlo), has just launched its Movement & Exercise Therapy programme.  This brand-new therapy programme helps people suffering from Long Covid, on their journey back to health and wellbeing.  The programme also helps people who have suffered and who are currently recovering from an injury or illness.

There are very few services available for the on-going treatment of and recovery from Long Covid. This 6 week course which includes Myofascial Pressure point release, Mobility Release, Muscle Balance and Stability and finally Strength, Endurance and Load.

Owner and director of The Pilates Hut, Michelle Fottrell, is able to provide this unique service because of the extensive range of Pilates apparatus housed at their studio in Banchory.  The Pilates Hut is proud to be Aberdeen City & Shire’s only fully comprehensive Pilates studio.

Movement and exercise therapy is particularly important for anyone scheduled for surgery  and preparing your body for a surgical procedure has been known to speed up post theatre recovery rates.

Michelle Fottrell explained: “Exercise therapy uses movements to improve the way the body functions. It focuses on moving the body and its different parts to relieve symptoms and improve mobility – and of course levels of fitness. You can use exercise therapy for the prevention and management of pain and along the way, get to know your body and the way it works better.”

The Pilates Hut’s new Movement & Exercise Therapy programme also helps people who have been through surgery from a chronic injury due to a fall, to recover their health and wellbeing more quickly.

Injuries happen and chronic conditions can slowly present emerge over time. Sometimes we move our bodies in ways that our bodies are not quite meant for and repetitive actions over a long period of time, result in mis-aligned movements can cause injury and pain.

Research supports the use of prescribed exercise programmes for conditions such as:

• Back pain
• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis and
• Heart disease

As well as for aiding recovery from:

• Hip replacements and
• Knee replacements

Through her Pilates work, Michelle identified that many of her clients struggle to get the specific help they need for recovery. In many cases people struggle to commit to a Physiotherapist’s prescribed exercise and then are left to self-manage, without guidance. This commonly results in clients forgetting to do their prescribed exercises.

The Pilates Hut’s specialised Exercise Therapy Programme is tailored to the individual’s unique needs and requirements and involves full support to aid success e.g.:

• Maximise physical abilities
• Optimising muscular function and core stability
• Preventing injury/re-occurring injury range of movement
• Improve physical fitness
• Improve Balance
• Improve general health and wellbeing
• Boosting endorphins (happy hormones) for stress relief
• Improving confidence and body image

As a highly qualified instructor, Michelle is keen to work even more closely with physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths’ referred clients so that more people are able to access services of enablement back to health and wellbeing.

The Pilates Hut is currently accepting clients direct from the medical professional and from the general public.